AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The "Noor Gardens" Islamic social center opened on Friday in the southwest of London, Ontario, Canada. This center includes a prayer hall, an educational center, and spaces for youth gatherings and interaction, and according to officials, it has been established with the aim of meeting the religious and social needs of the city's Muslim community.
The construction of this Islamic center took 14 years, and the project began in 2012 after the land was purchased by the Muslim Association of Canada. The cost of constructing this complex was funded through public donations, and a total of 14.3 million dollars was spent on its implementation. Dr. Nabil Sultan, the center's president and a physician at the London Health Sciences Centre, described this project as "a dream that has become reality."
According to Sultan, thousands of people contributed to funding the construction of this center, with donations ranging from five and ten dollars to more significant amounts. He emphasized that this same widespread public participation is what made this social project in the city of London a success.
The opening of the Noor Gardens center comes as, according to published reports, the city of London has a population of about 366,000, and Muslims make up approximately 8.5 percent of its residents. The city's existing mosques face capacity limitations in accommodating all worshippers. London's Muslim community also has a multi-generational history, and the city's first mosque was established in the 1950s; that mosque burned down in 1961 and was rebuilt three years later, becoming the first mosque in Ontario and the second in Canada.
Munir al-Qasim, the imam of the Islamic Center of Southwest Ontario, who has lived in London for 50 years, expressed hope that the Noor Gardens Islamic Center would become a place for reflection, mutual assistance, and dialogue among people from different backgrounds. Organizers have also planned programs such as open house days, interfaith programs, and dialogue-oriented sessions to strengthen connections between Muslims and non-Muslims in the city. Dr. Nabil Sultan, emphasizing the social approach of this center, said, "Our doors are always open to visitors."
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